Recently, the Centre for Responsible Business and Innovation (CRBI) at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) has been awarded the title of "Advanced Collective" for "Driving the Economy to a New Level in Scale and Quality (Building a High-level Innovative City Across the Board)".
Since its establishment in November 2023, CRBI has positioned itself around "responsible business and sustainable innovation", adhering to the principle of "developing, delivering, and serving simultaneously". It has rapidly forged ahead in fields such as ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) research, standard formulation, talent development, and international resource linkage. In just over two years, it has produced a series of practical results that are implementable, replicable, and support local high-quality development. This award of "Advanced Collective" is not only a high recognition of the Centre's deep engagement in the region and service to sustainable development, but also an affirmation of its value in empowering industrial transformation and boosting urban innovation through practical work, highlighting the unique role of university research institutions in sustainable economic and social development.
* Four "Grounded" Achievements: Providing Innovative Solutions for Urban Development
Since its establishment, CRBI has empowered regional high-quality development through grounded work and dedicated efforts. Focusing on four core areas: standard development, think tank services, talent cultivation, and platform building. The Centre has delivered a series of implementable, replicable, and scalable practical results, injecting strong impetus into Ningbo's all-round efforts to build a high-level innovative city.
1. “Grounded” Standards: Focusing on Industry, Filling Gaps
The Centre has moved beyond "paper-based research" to develop "standards for the workshop floor" by deeply engaging with frontline industries. It has led the formulation and release of China's first group standard for ESG assessment tailored for manufacturing enterprises. This standard precisely aligns with Ningbo's status as a major manufacturing hub, providing scientific and actionable tools for enterprises' green transformation. To ensure the standard delivers tangible impact, the Centre has simultaneously built an ESG digital evaluation platform (www.doesg.com), transforming the standard from a "text document" into a "practical tool" for enterprises, and effectively serving the high-quality and sustainable development of the real economy.
2. “Grounded” Think Tank: Serving Decision-Making, Exporting "Ningbo Experience"
Leveraging its strengths as a university think tank, the Centre was commissioned by the Ningbo Municipal Development and Reform Commission to develop a city-level ESG evaluation index system. This system is designed to provide decision support for the construction of a high-level innovative city. Rather than simply applying foreign models, it is deeply rooted in Ningbo's local development practices and industrial structure, with the ultimate goal of forming a replicable and scalable "Ningbo Experience" in ESG development, offering a solid reference for the city's all-round development of high-level innovative city construction.
3. “Grounded” Talent: Global Vision, Local Roots
Drawing on UNNC's international and interdisciplinary strengths, the Centre deeply integrates global resources with local needs to build a multi-tiered, high-quality talent development system for sustainable development. In academic education, it is leading the development of a Master's programme in "Business and Sustainable Development", translating research and international cooperation advantages into educational productivity. This programme cultivates versatile young talents who understand both business logic and sustainable development vision, directly addressing the talent needs of Ningbo's industrial green transformation. In practical training, the "Youth Sustainable Action Empowerment Programme" initiated by the Centre has won the United Nations University (UNU) "2025 Global RCE Flagship Award". This not only represents recognition from the United Nations, but also signifies that Ningbo's local youth sustainable development practices have taken to the global stage, achieving a shift from "importing" to "exporting".
4. “Grounded” Platform: International Certification, Resource Linkage
In December 2024, the Centre reached a major milestone in platform development with the official approval of the Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development (Ningbo) (RCE Ningbo), the 10th RCE in China. Adopting a dual-engine model of "research-education practice" and a collaborative framework of "lean core + interdisciplinary network", the Centre has efficiently integrated global resources, bringing an international perspective directly to Ningbo and closely aligning with local talent and innovation strategies.
* Director's Message and Future Vision
Professor Jing DAI, as the Chair Professor of Sustainable Operations and Technology Management from the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, expressed, “Since the Centre’s establishment, we have always taken the implementation of UNNC’s sustainable development strategy as our core mission. By integrating the University’s previously fragmented resources in the field of sustainability, we are committed to building an interdisciplinary research team and driving relevant work from ‘point innovations’ toward ‘systemic transformation’. On this basis, we deeply empower local enterprises and serve the green transition of regional economic and social development. Since RCE Ningbo was accredited by the United Nations University, CRBI and RCE Ningbo have formed a distinctive ‘dual-wheel drive’ model for collaborative innovation. We firmly believe that sustainable development should not be an isolated endeavour, but a value chain of ‘research–education–practice’: research empowers the breadth of education, educational innovation drives practical transformation, and practical outcomes feed back into cutting-edge academic development. Over the past two years, the Centre has made sustained efforts in three key areas: collaborative engagement, research and knowledge exchanges, and talent cultivation. More than 10 projects have been implemented, and over 15 high-level events have been organised. Receiving the ‘Advanced Collective’ award jointly conferred by the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government is not only authoritative recognition of our phased achievements, but also a testament to the irreplaceable catalytic role of university think tanks in regional green transition. Honour is a footnote to the past, while action is the answer to the future. Looking ahead, the Centre will continue to deepen its roots in Ningbo. In accordance with the 15th Five-Year Plan of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China, which states that 'we will take the development of RCE Ningbo as an opportunity to promote the collaborative innovation of industry, academia and research in the field of sustainable development to form a demonstrative effect, help Ningbo deeply integrate into the global sustainable development process, and accelerate the city’s green and international transformation and development', we are committed to refining local practices into the 'Ningbo Experience' with global reference value. Starting from the coast of the East China Sea, we will contribute UNNC wisdom and Chinese solutions to global sustainable development."
Read More: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3m-ycoGT4cmfsNujYmfbfA